BC Refugees Blog

As comic readers, we've been trained. It's almost as if we're dogs--we've been taught to purchase certain books, certain flagship titles, and we're rewarded by the big events that go on in them. Over the years, we've learned--maybe even without realizing it--to only buy books that "matter". If a title isn't by a big-name creator, if it doesn't have a lasting impact on one of the company's biggest characters, if people aren't dying or engaging in massive events--we don't read the book. Some of us will, sure, but not enough to shoot the title up on the sales charts without some ridiculous promotional gimmick--and, frequently, not enough will read the book to even keep it alive. There's much more to write about this--and I will, I'm going to try to write more in this blog than I have recently--but I just want to point out that, even though we, as readers, have been conditioned to only buy the very important titles, there are...

I don't often repost news articles here, but I'm making an exception because I'm absolutely stunned by this news:  Milestone Creator Dwayne McDuffie has Died (CBR) . I'm a huge fan of the Milestone books, as well as McDuffie's Marvel comics (Deathlok, FF) and animation work (Static Shock, Justice League Unlimited, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien). I often read his message board, linked in the sidebar, where he patiently answers detailed questions from young "Ben 10" fans. His adaptation of "All-Star Superman" comes out on DVD today, and he approved new series of "Static" and "Xombi" coming from DC later this year. I was planning to review "All-Star Superman" anyway, so I'll probably have more to say then, but for now I'm blown away. Edited to add: DC's official statement is  here , and CBR is collecting memories from McDuffie's colleagues  here .

BIRDS OF PREY  #7, 8, 9  (DC Comics)  Gail Simone, writer.  Ardian Syaf, penciler #7. Guillem March, artist #8.   Inaki Miranda, artist #9. Vicente Cifuentes, inker #7.  Nei Ruffino, colorist #8, 9. Travis Lanham, letterer #7, 8. Dave Sharpe, letterer #9.   “The Death Of Oracle”  Part 1, 2, 3 of 4. Having a little more discretionary income this month, I decided to explore some additional titles during my most recent stop at my favorite comics store (CBH).  On my mental note of things to check out were some titles that other BC members have been praising, and BIRDS OF PREY topped the list.   Here’s the short review:             “WOW!  Everybody needs to check this out.  Very, very good.”  (Just doing my part to placate the time-management challenged reader as well as those who get the news in short ‘sound bites” and lack the patience for a more detailed co...

In case you don't notice this stuff - - - since the end of 2010 the number of visitors to our BC REFUGEES site has been steadily climbing at the rate of almost 1,000 new visits per every 7 -10 days. This week, still early in February - - the number of visits exceeded 15,000. That's not a huge number - - however, what's more significant is the steadily increasing viewership. There's lots of sites out there with huge numbers - - don't know if this site will get there but the fact that we are picking up new visitors and hopefully returning readers is very encouraging. Thanks to everybody!

. . . . . from the official press release . . . . . . February 7, 2010 Atlanta, GA – Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Top Shelf Productions have signed a publishing agreement. Top Shelf Productions has agreed to publish the graphic novel MARCH, coauthored by Rep. John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, tentatively scheduled for release in 2012. “I am very pleased to be participating in this effort,” said Congressman John Lewis. “This is something I really wanted to do some years ago and there is no better time to do it than now. It is not just a story of struggle; it is a story of involvement. It shows the ups, the downs, the ins and the outs of a movement. “It is my hope,” said Congressman Lewis, “that this work will be meaningful and helpful to future generations to give many people here in America and around the world the urge, the desire, to seek, to build, their own world, their own future.” A meditation in the modern age on the distance traveled, both as a nation and as a people,...

LOGAN’S RUN: LAST DAY # 4  (Bluewater Comics, cover date April 2010)  Paul J, Salamoff, Writer; Daniel Gete, Penciler; Joseph Baker, Colorist; Johnny Lowe, Letterer.  Story – Jason Brock, William F. Nolan, Paul J. Salamoff. Cover by Matt Bellisle Sadly, this is the last issue of this series to be penciled by Daniel Gete.  Unfortunately, Gete will not be finishing out the final two issues of this limited series  (More mini-series are still planned).  We hope to see more of Daniel Gete’s  work in the future.  It’s still rather early in his career.  In the meantime, rather than turn in a sloppy performance he appears to have cranked it up a notch. This final issue featuring his artwork is a real delight. The opening two-panel splash page is all art with no captions.  The imagery evokes a sinister shark-fin surfacing as the transporter holding Logan and Jessica breaks through the ice in front of a frosty enclave that they hope will turn ...

SCOTT KURTZ TO HOST HARVEY AWARDS from the official press release . . . . . . . . . . BALTIMORE, MD (February 3, 2011) -- The Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con are proud to present the official Nomination Ballot for this year's Harvey Awards. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry's most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. My notes:  I’m including this information for those who are interested in seeing what’s on this year’s ballot.  You must meet certain qualifications in order to be eligible to vote. See the second following   paragraph for voting details .  Ballots can be downloaded from HarveyAwards.org and completed forms can be e-mailed to harveyballots@hotmail.com . Ballots are due for submission by Monday, March 28, 2011.  In addition to being available on the website, ballots will be sent to all major publishers and distri...